Six years ago, Fox Valley Christian Church started a weekend backpack program to feed families within the Batavia School District who are displaced or are in situations where securing food for their families is very challenging. School staff identify children who are in these difficult situations, and this information is passed along to the district’s Community Outreach Coordinator. Currently, 52 families are being served (200 people). Due to the increased demand for the program, Fox Valley Christian asked to partner with area churches. During Lent, we will be collecting food for this program. March 3 — chili (with or without beans) March 10 — canned vegetables March 17 — canned fruit March 24 — fruit cups, applesauce cups

Sunday, March 24, during 9:30 Worship Service - Join us as we honor La Amistad and our United Church of Christ during Worship!

There will be a showing of the movie Amistad on Wednesday, March 20, at 6:15 p.m. You are welcome to come to toGather supper at 5:30 p.m. before the movie – please RSVP to Laura Bernabei by Tuesday, March 23. Also, you may watch the movie on your own or borrow the DVD from Pastor Jane.

The Amistad was and is many things:

• It was a Cuban coasting schooner,

• It was a famous court case,

• It was an historic event that shaped the nation and the United Church of Christ

• It is a contemporary floating museum,

• It is a special Sunday in the United Church of Christ (UCC)

• It is an inspiration.

Amistad Sunday honors, emphasizes, and underscores the historic commitment of the UCC to the work of justice and compassion! Beginning in 1839, the work of “black and white” Congregationalists helped to secure the release of 53 captive Africans who struggled courageously for their freedom aboard La Amistad.

The fruits of their labors not only inspired Christian witness for justice in the mid-1800s, but also helped build a lasting movement for racial, economic, and social justice in the UCC!

Please send your annual reports to Barb Zillgitt by Sunday, March 10. Since this is an historical document, we want to include narratives from the officers, staff, teams, and all the other groups involved with our church. Please tell us what wonderful things you and/or your team, committee, group have done in the past year. We also would like pictures of your group and activities that have occurred throughout the year. If you have questions, contact Barb by email, bzillgitt685@gmail.com, or phone, 630 896 2451.

On the first Sunday of each month, either the Moderator or the Vice Moderator, or both will be at a designated table during coffee hour to answer questions, hear concerns, or discuss subjects of interest to the congregation. These sessions will begin on March 3rd and are open to members and visitors alike. So grab your beverage of choice, a treat from the coffee hour table, and join us!

The Nominating Committee Wants YOU!

Our church’s annual congregational meeting is coming up in April, and at that meeting we will be electing members to fill open positions. To do this, church leadership is forming the annual Nominating Committee. This team will consist of 4-5 people who will help us identify and secure candidates to fill those open spots. This will be a short-term effort: 4 to 6 weeks. No special skills are required – just the willingness to work with the rest of the group to identify candidates and make phone calls. Please consider answering the call to serve on this important team. If you are interested or just want to find out more, please contact either Mary Pat English (english4044@sbcglobal.net) or Jean Stone (jean.stone@sbcglobal.net).

Pastoral Search Committee

Church leadership will soon be convening a seven-member pastoral search committee whose job it will be to help us find a new settled pastor. This is a very important task in the future of our church. We are asking for volunteers who would like to serve on the committee, with the understanding that final choices will be made by a steering committee from the Council. This team should represent a cross-section of our congregation. A search team made up of men, women, newer members, long-time members, youth, middle agers, and seniors should give us the broadest perspective in selecting the best candidate for our next pastor. This committee will be working for an extended period of time, possibly as long as a year, and those who want to be considered need to be able to devote the time and energy to this very important initiative.

There are a few categories of folks who should not be on the search committee for reasons of distributing the workload and ensuring fresh perspective. Current church leaders including the Moderator, Vice Moderator, church officers, and ministry team leaders are not eligible, nor are the seven individuals who servedon the search committee for Yvette Eber.

Our goal is to have this team in place by April 1. If you are interested in being considered for the Pastoral Search Committee, please contact either Mary Pat English (english4044@sbcglobal.net) or Jean Stone (jean.stone@sbcglobal.net).

The Batavia Nursery School is now accepting registrations for the 2019-20 school year. If you have a preschool aged child, or know of a family looking for preschool, please share this information with them. All of the information you need can be found on the Batavia Nursery School website - just follow this link: http://www.batavianurseryschool.org/2019-Registration.htm

We have two UCC Summer Camps near us. Pilgrim Park is in Princeton, IL and Tower Hill in Sawyer, MI. There are a variety of camp experiences - Grandparents and me, Spirit Camp, Godstock, Women’s Retreat and more! We have a few children who went last year that can’t wait to return this summer. Contact Laura Bernabei for more info on their experiences and check out the camp opportunities at this link: http://www.il-outdoorministries.org/outdoor-ministries.html

﻿Our Women's Retreat was a time of fellowship, information, reflection and more. We made new friends and caught up with old friends. We shared our ideas and perceptions of angels, and had the opportunity to use our imaginations and creativity.

Share the Care is forming at the church. This is a committee much like the previous“Pastoral Care Committee”, but new and improved to help accommodateeveryone’s busy life. To get the group started, we are looking for peoplewho would be willing to provide a meal or transportation or send/write cardsfor our church members when the need arises. Please contact Julie CraneKnanishu at badger_jack@comcast.net

Our church has two Facebook accounts. One is a public Facebook page which can be seen by anyone. We use this account to provide information about our church services, ministries, and events for members and others.

In our second account, the content is not available for everyone in the public to view. The congregation uses it to share joys and concerns, pictures, poems, something that inspires them, etc. Members of the group can read, post, and comment, and no one outside of the group can see the posts and comments. This is known on Facebook as a closed group.

To find either the church Facebook page or the closed group, you can log into your Facebook account and in the search bar type in either Congregational Church of Batavia or Members and Friends of the CCOB. This should bring you to a list of suggestions. Click on your choice and then you should be able to “like” or “join.”